May 16 Back Door Amnesty

According to this Redstate Action Alert, Democrats have slipped the AG Jobs bill into the Senate emergency supplemental appropriations bill. Why we care is because the bill has an amnesty provision in it. Here’s an overview of that provision:

Blue card status:
Authorizes the granting of temporary “blue card” status to an alien who pays a $100 fee, and who DHS has determined to:

• have performed agricultural employment in the United States for at least 863 hours or 150 work days (one work day is defined as 5.75 hours, so this is the equivalent of 21.5 40‐hour work weeks, or less than half of a standard 50‐week work year), whichever is less, during the two‐year period ending December 31, 2006;
• have applied for blue card status during the 18‐month application period beginning on the first day of the seventh month after enactment;
• have not been convicted of any felony or a misdemeanor involving bodily injury, threat of serious bodily injury, or harm to property exceeding $500; and
• be otherwise admissible (with specified waivers available);
• Caps the number of aliens to be granted blue card status in the five years following enactment at 1.5 million;
• Requires each employer of a blue card alien to annually provide a written record of employment to that alien and to provide a copy of that record to DHS (lest the employer be fined up to $1,000 per violation), but sunsets that obligation six years after enactment; and
• Requires DHS to provide each blue card alien with a secure, biometric identification document (e.g., encrypted identification strip, biometric identifiers).

Do we really want to reward people for breaking the law? If you’re opposed to rewarding illegal behavior, call your senator at (202) 224-3121.

It’s time that we reminded the politicians that We The People oppose this ban in huge numbers.

Cross-posted and comments welcome at Let Freedom Ring.